Love Potion . V,

The Queen Anna Maria  

 
   From the moment I stepped on the deck of the the Queen Anna Maria, it seemed as if I sipped some  kind of  every man on the ship, was paying me attention...  Every morning, the sleazy Captain ' would phone me at my cabin and was whispering in my ear: "Good morning sleeping beauty"..."X which I did not particularly liked... He insisted I sit by his side, at the Captain's table, during formal dinners and asked me to act as the 'Hostess'... I have to admit that after resisting, I found it to be a lot of fun... After the fifth day of the voyage, the Ship's doctor asked me to marry him and the Photographer, was snapping my hie camera, every time I turned a corner... I was constantly being trailed by adoring crew members and their officers, the band leader, the musicians, the bartenders, the entertainers, young and old passengers, the waiters in the dining room and even the steward of my first class cabin; It was uncanny! Was I so relieved to escape the unwanted marriage, that I was radiating some kind of a 'Heavenly Joy?'

 

With the ship’s captain	Introducing the show	The Queen Anna Maria		Enjoying the wind	With hostess Rita

   I am sure that canceling my wedding with Ari, was a x Divine Intervention... (Escaping the Trap)       Not that there was anything wrong with the poor man, it is just that he did not fit in to the puzzle of       my destiny! It seemed as if Fate had different planes for me... I had to meet Paul; the man who would    be my first True Love, loose him and go through the process of ''Suffering from a Broken Heart", in order to develop my soul and grow up spiritually... "There is no spiritual growth without suffering!" Says Carl Jung, Rumi, wrote that "Our heart has to be broken again and again, until it stays Wide Open"..." I now believe that in order to become a good therapist, as well as a spiritual teacher, I had to go through a' Real 'Emotional Pain' and help others  to heal, during in my Spiritual Journey, which would eventually lead me to  understand the meaning of the the 5th Dimension... Since Fate and Destiny are parts of the Divine, a Higher Power had to intervene, in order to prevent me from making a terrible mistake by marrying Ari who was a very nice man, but the wrong one for me... 

  

  I believe that the attention I was receiving on the cruise, came to reassure me that I have done the      right thing, by ecsaping the "Marriage Trap", marry the wrong man which would changed the course of my life ...  I must have been radiating such Heavenly Joy, that the people around me wished to be a part   of it... Thinking back, men were not the only peopl, who were seeking my company, the single women gravitated towards me, wishing to be my friends...... They were not at all jealous at the attention I was receiving from their 'Potential Suitors' on the ship and wished to be in my company! Without realizing it   I must have been radiating some kind of Joyful Energy, which made people want to be a part of... I was 'dancing the nights away', along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and kept on dancing, as we crossed the Atlantic Ocean, during several fierce storms... While most of the passengers were moaning with "Sea Sikness" in their cabins, I danced with the few who didn't, as well as a few crew members..... Once, in the middle of a 'small hurricane', we were sliding up and down the dance floor, shrieking with laughter, as the 'Queen Anna Maria', was rising and falling, through dangerous highs and laws of gigantic waves... The evening before arriving to the U.S, I put together a show, with some of talented passengers and a few crew members...  My Play Directing skills (my Minor at the University of Huston) in addition to my experience as a Drama Teacher, came handy and I was later told, by passengers a well as members of the crew, how professional the production was:"Almost like a Broadway Show! " 

 
  We finally reached the N.Y harbor and I was sadly saying goodbye to my new friends... Watching them disembark, made me realize how close people get, when they spend long time together, in close proximity|It was very strange to see the new people who boarded the ship in N,Y, sitting at the tables of the former passengers, whom I got to know so well... Shortly before arriving back to Haifa, we made a stop at the Italian port of Genoa in order to pick up more passengers. I was standing on the pier with Rita, my new German friend and  one of the crew member and was talking with her parents, who came to meet her at the port, using a mixer of 'broken German' and English... Little did I know, that the man of my destiny who was ready to board the ship, was standing nearby, watching me  and listening to my 'broken German' with amusement... I had no idea or any premonition, that the 'Love of my life', was standing looking at me just a few feet away... 

 

  We left Genoa, moving on back to Israel, our final destination... I was busy getting ready for the show      I directed, which was to take place the evening before we arrived to Haifa's harbor and was stressed, since some of the participants in the show, failed to show up for the final rehearsal... Since it was lunch time, I went to look for them at the two dining rooms of the ship. As I entered the Kosher dining room, where the religious Jewish passengers dined, I saw one of my 'Admirers',waving to me... I didn't particularly care for this person, so I pretended not to see him and turned to leave. "Shira!" he yelled across the dining room waving his arms, "Come here!" Heads were turning and in order to silence him, I harried to his table. He was seated across another man, who stood up and introduced himself as Paul... I declined the invitation  for coffee, telling them how busy I was, looking for the rest of the 'amateur' singers, dancers and actors  for the the final rehearsal, before the show on the next day...

   The show was a Smashing Success, even better than the one before arriving to N.Y! After several curtain calls, bouquets of flowers and a shower of complements, I received for the evening performance we all left the theater and moved to the Gala room, in order to celebrate the end of the voyage.. A group

of men, was waiting for the captain to end the first dance with me, so they could have their turn... I was dancing non stop, moving from one partner to another, floating like a cloud on the shiny dance floor. At one point I found myself in the arms of an excellent dancer, who swept me in a dizzying waltz, when suddenly something felt different... I Looked around me and was shocked to find myself with my dancing partner, outside on the Deck of the ship!!!  The strong wind was blowing my hair and my dress and the sound of the waves, was replacing the music inside...

   "How did we get here?" I asked this stranger, who was looking at me smiling with with amusement       "I thought we can use some fresh air, so I waltzed with you right through the first door I could find! I wanted to be alone with you and this was the only way, to get rid of the competition!" This stranger was smiling with amusement, when he was looking at my confused and astonished expression as I was looking at him speechless..."You don't remember me, do you Shira? I am Paul, we met yesterday at the Kosher dining room! Would you forgive me for kidnapping you like this? XIt it is our last night on the ship and this was  the only way I could get to be alone with you!" When I did not answer he said :"Please let me make amends by allowing me to buy you a drink!"  Without waiting for my answer, he held my elbow and navigated me through a door of an empty bar, where a pianist was playing Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue' He then puled a chair for me and set across the small table smiling...  I was very confused, something was happening, which I did not quiet understand..."What would you like to drink?" He asked. "I don't drink alcohol" I finally answered, feeling confused... It seemed as if things were moving way too fast and out   of my control... "Well, you are over twenty one right? Don't you think it is about time you try it?" Paul  said and turned to the waiter; "Campari on the rocks for the lady and Brandy for me!" He then looked      at me and said smiling: "Please try it Shira, it is a very mild drink, you would like it!"

  "Oh, no!" I heard myself moaning inwardly, "This is all I need right now; to be stuck in a corner of       an empty dark bar, on my last evening on the ship, with an arrogant, controlling Alcoholic, who is also   an Orthodox Jew!"... I was eying him suspiciously, thinking that this man was was way to commending and self assured; but in spite of my judgmen, I found myself listening with a growing curiosity, to this handsome stranger, who so far seemed to 'Outsmart me'... Paul turned out to be well mannered and an excellent conversationalist. "Not bad looking either" I admitted to myself... He told me that he is the new First Secretary at the Austrian Embassy in Tel Aviv and his reason for choosing a career as a diploma,was partially because he wanted to live in many countries as he could... Paul spoke about the time he was studying in NY, on a Fulbright Scholarship and his impression of "The city which doesn't sleep". I found myself talking about the last few years of my life, my Military Service and the various adventures I had with Tsipi in the U.S and Europe. I also spoke about The Six Days War and of my resent escape from the 'Marriage trap'...

  "You are a very unusual woman!" Paul said smiling."Do you really think so?" I asked with X genuine surprise... He smiled and was telling me how much he is looking forward to get to know Israel, for the first time, even though he had a glimpse of Jerusalem from the other side, when he visited Jordan, which shares a border with Israel. "How come a Jewish man is visiting an Arab country, before visiting Israel?"  I asked surprised... "But I am not Jewish", Paul said... I was confused, frantically searching my mind for the reason I made such a mistake:"But you were sitting in the 'Kosher' Jewish Dining Room, when I first met you!" I said ... "I was curios to know what kosher food tastes like", Paul smiled and then started to laugh, when he saw the confused expression on my face and I realized, that it was my confusion which  seemed to amuse him...

 Although Paul was unusually charming and very good looking (part of the observation single people make when they meet for the first time...) I realized there was not a chance for any romantic involvement with this man... Not so much because he wasn't Jewish, but mainly because he was Austrian... Israel was still populated with many victims, who survived the Nazis concentration camps...There was not much love for anything German or Austrian, in our little country, not even by the second generation, of  those who were just children (like Paul was) when the horrors of the Concentration Camps were discovered; like the phony 'Medical Experiments' and the 'Gas Chambers', which took place in these camps..."Austria was as    bad as Germany!" People in Israel were sa;"Even worse!" 

 

   The piano music was delightful, our conversation was stimulating, we laughed a lot and somehow Paul convinced me, to take a sip of his Campari, after I told him I do not drink Alcoholic Beverages."Just taste it!" He said and to my great surprise, I enjoyed the taste of the drink Paul ordered for me, this wine had a deep red color, almost the color of a perfect Ruby sparkling in the light... It tasted sweet and bitter at the same time, as if it was some kind of a premonition about our destiny... I became 'Tipsy' after a few sips and Paul was laughing, when I described to him, my one and only drinking experience with the Champain I had in Italy... (European Vacation). He said that he would like to learn Hebrew and asked if I knew anyone who could give him privet lessons."Actually, why don't You teach me, you are a teacher after all" " He asked. "I'll be happy to!" I said with typical Israeli hospitality, which is saved for visitors... We chatted for quiet a while and finally got up to leave. Paul walked me to my cabin and to my big surprise, instead of trying to kiss me (like others did) he picked up my hand and brought it to his lips wished me a good night and left... The following day we saw each other again on deck, just before the ship reached Haifa. Paul asked for my phone number and I welcomed him to Israel, wishing him a good luck with with his new career.

 

  I knew that Shipboard friendships and romances, usually fade away almost as soon as the people's feet touch the solid ground... It was Friday and my mother invited some of our family members and a few of my close friends for the Sabbath dinner. Not even one of the guests, including my parents had ever been away from Israel and they seemed to be living this trip vicariously, through my photographs and stories   of my trip... I was always a good 'Story Teller' and was entertaining my gusts, by describing some funny episodes, which took place between the ship's crew members and passengers, the stops we made in Europe and the Islands we visited on the way to the U.S and back...We were talking and laughing late in to the night and I seemed to forget the handsome, young Austrian diplomat I met on the ship, until three days later, when he phoned...

With Love and Light,

Shira